What If?
by MeLikesROFL
Summary: Back in the past, there weren't just 3 of the patriots under Shoyou-sensei. Will history change?
1. Chapter 1

Gen/Dark elements/Eventual humour. OC.

Flash-fic format.

Warning: Uncensored language.

Summary: What if, back in the past during the Joui legends' childhood under Shoyou-sensei, there weren't just the 3 of them. Will history change?

A/N: First time I'm writing a story like that. Hope you bear with me!

I don't own the comedy and plot genius that is Gintama.

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Chapter 1: Impressions

The_ first memory that I had, wasn't a pleasant one._

_It was warm. Scorching, even._

_My throat was burning, the dry air further irritating my inflamed airways and stinging eyes._

_It hurts, and there's a desperate need to do something, get away-_

_SLAM!_

_Something crashes loudly behind me, at the exact spot where I crawled away from mere seconds ago._

_The flames are licking the doorway, my only route of escape._

_Smoke is rapidly filling up my lungs. I need to BREATHE!_

_Am I going to die here?_

_I…_

_I don't want to die!_

_Somebody, anybody, help me!_

_…_

_And then, my life started.  
_

_~.~.~_

"Ne, ne, is that the new student everyone was talking about?"

"Yeah, I think so. They said that Shoyou-sensei picked him up from the graveyard!"

"He's creepy."

"Uhuh. He's a monster. Heard he ate corpses from the battlefields."

"Eww! That's disgusting. I'm not gonna play with him."

"Me neither!" The majority of the children in the dingy classroom chorused together, giving the newcomer the stink eye.

Children are blessed, with no need for subtlety. Their not-so-whispered conversation easily reached the back of the classroom, piquing my interest. I turned my head up from the drool covered desk to face the slightly open doorway.

Right into the distrustful red eyes of a demon.

**TBC.**


	2. Chapter 2

Warning: Crude language, eventual violence.

Flash-fic format.

A/N: Trying to come up with a suitable back story is really hard...

I don't own Gintama.

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Chapter 2: Unseen Shadow

That's the first time I met him.

And as they say, first impressions last the longest.

I feared him, to tell the truth, even though the other kids eventually warmed up to the 'silver haired weirdo'.

Every day after class, as per usual, we would greet Shoyou-sensei before we are released for our afternoon break and lunch. It is usually the best period in the day, where our boundless energy is finally granted the release it seeks from being cooped up in the mostly enclosed classroom.

Despite being a rather friendly and effective teacher with abundance charisma, one simply cannot hold the attention of pubescent kids for any prolonged periods of time with history books and native folklore, no matter how interesting they may seem at first.

Well, we're kids. And kids plus prolonged lessons dragging from early morning after sunrise to about midday is just asking for trouble to happen.

To prevent this, Shoyou-sensei quickly revised his lesson plans (from what I remember they used to be a couple of weeks back), such that we get a nice long two hour break before our next lesson. The local club of housewives usually pack simple but filling lunches for us orphans and Sensei in a rather simple wooden bento delivered directly to the school by some passing farmers. The cheap but good lunch is the same old rice with some fresh fish delivered by the local hunters whenever they came back each day.

Today's mackerel and rice, plus some dried plums and soy sauce drizzled at some parts.

Well, what can I say? The housewives do love kids after all, and they can't really help it since women are usually banned from leaving the house except to buy groceries or gossip with neighbours. Staying at home all the time only drives their interest in coddling children whenever they can, especially if their own kids are already working in the fields from sunrise to sunset.

Carefully lifting the lid off the bento, I inhaled the delicious smell emitting from the slightly warm bento box. We don't have any set rules on where to consume food, even if it's in our only classroom, as long as we keep the place clean. The only bad thing is that the messy and clumsy kids like Aka-kun tends to be saddled with cleaning duty as revenge for dirtying the floor with the food he dropped. As I chewed my rice thoughtfully, I couldn't help but notice the bunch of kids crowding around the newcomer's desk diagonally behind me and two seats to the left.

"Ne ne, we're gonna play kick the can later. Wanna join?"

"Yeah! I heard you're fast. I'll even invite you to my team!"

"Hey no stealing! C'mon, my team's even better, join mine!"

The kids squabbled and the ruckus grew even louder, the silver haired boy –what's-his-name- looked totally bored out of his mind, ignoring the generally childish competitiveness for him and started picking his nose.

I immediately turned my rapidly reddening face back to my own lunch, barely stopping the light snickers that leaked out from my lips by stuffing as much rice in as I can.

He's… so aloof that it's almost unbelievable how he can totally ignore the fact that people are fighting over him. Mostly.

Taking my chances, I quickly peeked back, only to sigh quietly in relief when I did not catch his eye. In fact, he looked even closer to entering dreamland with how his eyelids are drooping lower and lower with every passing second amidst the ongoing chaos, clutching the sword –I swear I saw Shoyou-sensei carry it before- tightly in his grasp, leaning rather comfortably on it though I highly doubt it is as nice as he makes it look like.

The glint in Takasugi's eye caught mine though, and I dreaded the cold feeling that pooled in my gut, though he smiled and waved lightly at me. I glared back.

Sheesh. That bastard better take a hint or I'm digging him a new one, top student or not.

I think… the monster of my dreams did not really notice me, the loner, the average in the rowdy bunch of orphans, and so I counted my lucky blessings to breathe another sigh of relief.

Just plain old "Kyo-kun".

**TBC.**


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: Totally explicit crude language. I don't like censoring.

Flash-fic format.

A/N: I still don't own Gintama... Or the voices. Am totally in love with the crazy yet lovable sounds they make...

And this sounds just so damn wrong. _Damn._

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Chapter 3: Breeze

A stream of light brought warmth to my face, the sudden brightness waking me up. I groaned, slapping the back of my hand to cover the dreaded light as I breathed in the crisp morning air.

Crickets and roosters were in their elements, calling out their loudest at this time of the day. Already, I could feel the temperature slowly rise even as I lay for a moment longer on my futon.

Cursing lightly, I slowly opened my eyes and rolled off, away from the bright warm reminder of summer invading my room.

Yes, summer. The hottest and essentially, the most dreaded time of the year for the villagers. I yawned, anticipating the dreary days we are about to go through for the next few months even as I picked up my personal towels and headed to the nearby stream for the morning ritual.

Keeping my footsteps light, I gave a dismissive glance at the still asleep Takasugi, making a mental note to take the pots and pans from the kitchen before I get back.

That guy sleeps like a bear in hibernation during the summer. Don't ask me why. Luckily, I have long since devised a rather... efficient method of waking the pissy roommate up.

Plus there's the bonus of enlightening any more sleepyheads still in the dorm.

Oh wait, I think I have an idea...

*Smirks*

_Splash!_

_*Splutter*_ "Hey!" A drowsy but irritated voice rang loudly in the room, clearly awake now.

I laughed out loud, much to Takasugi's irritation.

"Will you just shut up? It's much too early for me to deal with you." He huffed, scrambling out of the wet sheets as fast as he can.

"Too bad, deal with it~" I skittered out of the room. "I have better things to do. Ja~"

Ignoring the dagger glares aimed at my back with practised ease, I slipped out into the hallway to follow up Plan B.

His luck for having to bunk in with an insomniac. There's no such thing as an early morning. It's always sunrise to me once I open my eyes.

Gintoki's my favourite morning victim No.2, that sleepyhead, with how easily he can still slip off into wonderland even after getting doused in water - apart from totally freaking out for a minute or two. Trust me, I've tried. And I'm getting more creative as each day passes, though it still gives me the heebie jeebies when I walk past him in class.

No, I'm not afraid of him per say...

It's his eyes, his expression. The look that says there's nothing worthwhile in this world. Everything's in black and white, no colour, no life.

And I was brought up to believe that the eyes are the windows to your soul.

His eyes... I couldn't really describe it. It's almost dead, but there's still this curious spark alive every once in awhile that made me believe there wasn't just a monster inside him, but a child as well.

To tell the truth, I don't know what to think. But since Shoyou-sensei is putting his trust in him... I guess I would as well.

Shoyou-sensei knows what's best for us, right? _Sensei, the only person I trust in the whole wide world._

~.~.~

I pasted a bored mask of complete indifference as Takasugi glared icy holes at me whenever Shoyou-sensei turned to face the other half of the classroom away from the outdoor view, especially since he was sitting diagonally left in front of me. It was almost comical how his facial expressions did a 180 whenever he caught sight of sensei's face and when he was staring angrily at mine.

Clutching my book a bit more tightly with both hands as I brought my head closer to it, I bit my lower lip and sniggered very softly into the pages, further inciting an even more heated glare from my roommate.

A couple of visitors came by, asking for Shoyou-sensei for some kind of adult business that they didn't want us to hear. Naturally, chaos descended as soon as the paper door closed to give a semblance of privacy, with many feet and hands clambering over each other at the doorway to eavesdrop.

I wisely stayed at the sidelines to watch the show, enjoying myself greatly at the indignant expression on Katsura's babyish face, a cutely smirking Takasugi, and as I turned my head back, the blissfully unaware -that's no surprise nowadays- Gintoki, drooling on the table with his open book resting underneath his cheek.

The door actually collapsed, but the adults just had this _look_ that said they knew what was going on.

I, naturally, listened to my finely tuned 'Fight or Flight' instincts.

I pointed.

"Hey!" Takasugi fumed. "I didn't see you do anything either, Kyo!"

The some of the other adults tsk-ed, and made to leave without an escort, much to sensei's chagrin.

Long story short, someone got chewed out for not trying to help maintain class order. And another got away scot-free. One person got praised for the attempt, as futile as it may have been. The last individual was ignored almost completely in the issue.

Needless to say, my current situation.

"I'm gonna get you later."

I stuck out my tongue. "Make me."

Takasugi clenched his fist till they turned white, sending his newly perfected you-have-a-death-wish-don't-you glare at me.

Easily shrugged off. I flipped him the finger, and happily sat back and watched Shoyou-sensei catch him not paying attention.

_Finally._ I winked at him, making Takasugi scrunch his nose in disgust. Katsura, at the corner of my eye, was about to tattle-tale.

Giving him the _look_, he backed down rather quickly.

'Good.' I gave a mental nod of approval. The goody-two-shoes knows his place in the pecking hierarchy at least.

Ahhh, peaceful childhood days.

_But for how long will they last?_

**TBC. **


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: Still language.

Flash-fic format, as per normal.

A/N: No, I still don't own Gintama. Honestly, what'd you expect? I'll be rolling around in cash by now if I did own the copyrights to it. And profits. Don't forget the profits.

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Chapter 4: Whisper

This isn't being very productive.

I sneezed loudly, rubbing my sore nose even as the onslaught of the hay fever in the region resulted in higher than expected casualties this year round. Well, it is early summer, so it is no surprise that a good number of people are down with sniffles and even mild fever since a couple of days ago.

I held onto my small broomstick, intent on finishing the courtyard sweep before retreating into the sanctuary of the dormitory where countless other warriors have fallen.

Metaphorically speaking, of course. Just because we do get dojo sessions to learn kendo about thrice a week, taught by Shoyou-sensei doesn't make us actual samurai.

I should know. Who knows how many times my ass got handed to me by one of those insufferable, stuck up kids like oh, I don't know, Takasugi ring a bell?

No?

Screw you.

That horrible roommate just HAD to lord it over me at every opportunity he gets, whether or not it's deserved.

So, you can't blame me for replacing his medicine with plain soup right?

Right?

Okay so, vendetta aside, only 6 of us were healthy enough to continue lessons, out of the original 20 or so.

And so, precisely because of what a horrible summer it has been so far, our remaining lessons have all been converted into book lessons.

Yes, you heard me right the first time. Books. Reading materials. On the samurai code of the Bushido and etc.

That I have absolutely no interest in. But sadly, no matter how much we begged and pleaded Shoyou-sensei, his iron clad determination is next to impossible to break through, though we did try.

No means no, that we learnt the hard way.

How? Well...

By the time we were big enough in sensei's eyes to entrust bokken for us to practise our stances out in the courtyard about a couple of months after Gintoki was taken under Shoyou-sensei's wing like the rest of us, the silver haired boy made a name for himself. And a lifetime friend as well in the name of the mother-hen known as Katsura.

Or as we all quite affectionately term him as, Zura-chan. Just to watch him turn red and splutter that he's not a girl.

Either way, Gintoki had quite literally, demolished the chaos and replaced it with unruly order using the might of his teeth to establish a new classroom hierarchy the very moment that Shoyou-sensei took his eyes off us when he left on a herbs gathering trip at the nearby hills for a couple of days.

Yes, teeth.

And no, you wouldn't want to go there.

What's the end result?... Well, we were all reminded of Shoyou-sensei's rule number 1: Comrades are your brothers in arms. We pick fights together, not apart or with each other.

It was beaten into us - kindly, by our adopted father, with lots and lots of love of course, during our kendo drill lessons once he got back and the honest monks told him everything.

My mind drifted off to the good old days with lots of sparring and beating the hell out of one another -supervised- all in the name of training. All the sweat and adrenaline and bruises does quite some good stress relief using the passive-aggressive revenge tactics against horrible schoolmates that you just can't get rid of.

...Hm? Did I hear something?

I quickly scampered across the mostly clean courtyard, to the corner of the temple that was shaded partially by the old sakura tree. Shoyou-sensei and another guy, in rich merchant clothes were conversing in hushed, secretive tones that just begged to be deciphered.

Colour me interested.

Well, curiosity may kill the cat but unless it's dead it is bound to happen one way or another...

So.

Without any remorse, I climbed onto the rooftop for the vantage point of view, my abysmal skills at lip-reading is improving with every try. I think. Eh, it doesn't hurt to be optimistic.

"...situation?"

"Amanto... invasio-...soon, not safe"

Shoyou-sensei looks worried. "...disrupt... peace?"

The unknown male nodded, seemingly worried. "...foreigner...bad."

"Kids...careful."

Shoyou-sensei nodded again, this time round his face took on a darker, more worried look that I recently being acquainted with through the troublemaker antics by the more mischievous pranks played in class.

What's going on? Amanto? Is it some kind of disease or something?

I shifted closer, precariously teetering on the edge. Just then, a broken roof tile fell off.

_Crack._

Oops.

**TBC.**


	5. Chapter 5

No actual warnings and stuff this chapter, just the usual spiel of I don't own Gintama.

And its still a flash-fic. Wheeee~

A/N: Whew I finally had the time AND motivation to continue with something. Eh.

* * *

Both men turned sharply at the sound, hands dropping to the sheathed swords.

"Who's there?" The merchant guy shouted brashly while sensei scanned the perimeter in mild concern.

I quickly ducked under the roof's ridge and lay as flat as possible, praying my clothes blended with the roof tiles. Geez, anyone with a healthy sense of preservation and paranoia in the middle of secret meetings would know better than to raise a commotion, eh?

I clasped both hands tightly over my mouth and held my breath, not daring to make a sound. Oh man, Shoyou-sensei is gonna be pissed…

"Come out! We know you're there!"

Oh no. My heartbeat spiked and I internally panicked, rapidly wishing for my heart to calm down quickly.

Calm down Kyo, calm down. They can't hear my heartbeat right? They can't possibly know where I am!

The crunching sound of sandaled feet sent my heart on another tripping frenzy, making me dearly regret not being more careful.

Pfft, like I'll regret being curious. Kids gotta do what kids gotta do.

Plus spying on mean adults to look out for my teacher is a totally legit thing okay.

Both men walked around the vicinity and even inside the temple, guard raised. A cold shower of fear kept my eyes wide open even as they eventually left the place with heightened paranoia.

Luckily they never did think to look up. I'm pretty sure some parts of the roof actually is worn down to the point of nearly being see-through.

"Maybe it's not an Amanto spy?" Shoyou-sensei murmured as they carefully walked away.

"Or maybe it's one of your kids, or them. Either way, we must make sure no one knows."

I swallowed a gulp.

When I was certain they were definitely much further away, I quickly clambered down and ran towards my room.

That was really, really scary.

And when stormy grey eyes haunted me that night, I wasn't even sure if it was a dream or not.

**TBC.**


End file.
